Silicon Valley venture capital giant Sequoia Capital is shutting its London office and cutting staff, just six years after expanding into Europe, in a major retreat from Britain’s startup investment scene.
The US investor, an early backer of Apple, Airbnb and Stripe, confirmed the closure in a sweeping restructuring announcement, saying it no longer saw the need for a physical presence in the capital.
“We are closing our London office, which means several people will be leaving Sequoia”, the firm said in a blog post published on Wednesday.
“This is not about the team – they are excellent. We simply don’t see the need for a local presence”.
Sequoia insisted it remained committed to backing European startups but said investment decisions and support would increasingly be handled from its Silicon Valley headquarters.
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SUBSCRIBE HERE“We believe that Europe will continue to produce outlier founders and companies, and that we can continue to provide world class support from our home base in the Bay Area”.
The decision reverses Sequoia’s European expansion, which began in 2020 when it opened its London office and hired former Accel investor Luciana Lixandru to lead its regional operations.
By 2023, the firm had expanded its London investment team to six partners.
London loses Silicon Valley heavyweight
The withdrawal comes despite London’s recovery as Europe’s leading technology investment hub.
UK startups raised $23.7bn (£17.8bn) in venture capital last year, up 33 per cent on 2024, according to Dealroom figures commissioned by the government.
London accounted for almost three-quarters of that investment, while the capital reclaimed its position ahead of Paris in global technology ecosystem rankings earlier this year.
However, Britain’s startup sector remains heavily dependent on overseas investors, with foreign capital accounting for 74 per cent of UK venture funding in 2025.
Sequoia’s exit comes as the government attempts to encourage more investment into British startups, including through tax incentives announced in last week’s Budget.
The closure forms part of a broader shake-up at the venture capital heavyweight, which has also scrapped its Arc accelerator and Scouts programmes, streamlined investment teams and removed the distinction between early-stage and growth investing.
The firm said it was moving towards a more selective investment strategy, concentrating resources on fewer companies.
“We are best at high-conviction, highly selective venture capital investing. This is our focus”, it said.
The restructuring follows a leadership transition and comes despite Sequoia raising approximately $10bn in new funds, underlining that its London withdrawal is a strategic decision rather than an apparent shortage of investment capital.
The firm said its priority was delivering stronger returns rather than expanding its global footprint. “Our objective function is not scale, but quality”, it added.